Japanese knotweed, also known as Reynoutria japonica, is believed to have the ability to treat injuries, muscle contractions, and pain. However, Japanese knotweed has a strong ability to regenerate and can spread extensively, causing serious harm to the ecological environment and human health. So how can Japanese knotweed be controlled?
Image of Japanese knotweed
Japanese knotweed has a strong ability to regenerate!
All parts of Japanese knotweed, including stems, nodes, branches, and roots, can grow new roots. After cutting and planting, it can form new plants. Even the remaining above-ground parts of Japanese knotweed after removal and cutting can quickly regenerate. The growth period is uneven and overlapping.
The emergence period starts from mid to late March and can last until late November, lasting for 7 months. The early and late maturing types of Japanese knotweed have a difference of more than one month in their growth periods. This is the direct reason for the uneven and overlapping growth periods.
As a malignant weed, Japanese knotweed also exhibits strong vitality and can produce thousands of seeds per plant. It can spread everywhere through wind, humans, livestock, birds, and water flow. Broken Japanese knotweed can grow more new branches from its root stub.
Does Japanese knotweed destroy the ecosystem?
After invading bare land, Japanese knotweed can become a dominant species within a year. Due to its strong vitality, it can cover and suppress native plants, causing damage to the original ecosystem and reducing agricultural output.
It consumes water and nutrients from the soil, resulting in significant agricultural losses. The spread of Japanese knotweed can cause large areas of farmland to become abandoned, posing a significant threat to the ecological environment.
The potential harm of Japanese knotweed is quite serious, especially in extensive agricultural areas.
Japanese knotweed can mix with all dryland crops, especially intercropped crops such as corn, soybeans, sunflowers, hemp, and flax. It can cause a large area of crop failure and even total loss of crops.
Methods to control Japanese knotweed!
Japanese knotweed has spread extensively, causing serious harm to the ecological environment and human health. In the face of this urgent situation, experts are calling for increased efforts to control Japanese knotweed.
Japanese knotweed can quickly form a monoculture in a specific area, occupying the living space, nutrients, and water of other plants, leading to the decline and extinction of the original plant community.
It is reported that in the 1980s, Jiangxi Province carried out weed control in various counties and achieved certain results.
However, at that time, only chemical and manual removal methods were used to deal with Japanese knotweed, which proved to be ineffective against its strong reproductive and adaptive capabilities.
Konstantin Kovanov, a Japanese knotweed expert from the former Soviet Union, once pointed out, "If China does not pay attention to the control of Japanese knotweed, the consequences will be irreversible."
In terms of control methods, plants also follow the principle of survival of the fittest. Chemical methods are effective but highly polluting. Experts recommend using biological methods to control Japanese knotweed.
It is understood that Japanese knotweed has the growth characteristic of "occupying every opportunity". As long as there is open space, it will quickly occupy it.
Experts suggest combining urban greening and using competitive plants to "encircle and intercept" Japanese knotweed. By planting economically competitive plants such as ginger in areas where Japanese knotweed is prone to grow, it can be effectively controlled, providing a better method for its management.
